STEWART Downing admits it would be “brilliant” to play against Brazil at the new Wembley tonight.

The Boro star is expected to be named on the bench for England’s first ever senior international at the rebuilt national stadium with Joe Cole set to start on the left of midfield.

But with England due to play in Estonia on Wednesday in a must-win Euro 2008 qualifier, Steve McClaren may take the decision to withdraw Cole in the second half tonight to save him for Tallinn.

The England head coach is poised to start with the team that will play in Estonia but make second half changes.

Downing, who has trained on the hallowed turf but has yet to play at the #700m stadium, said: “It would be brilliant to play at Wembley, absolutely brilliant.

“Playing for England has been amazing, but playing for England at Wembley would be a dream come true. Scoring would be even better.”

Referring back to last Friday’s 3-1 win over Albania, when Downing played a blinder for England B, he added: “I wanted to get onto the field on Friday so that I could show the manager what I could do and hopefully get a run-out at Wembley.

“I was pleased with the way it went and delighted with my two goals.

“Hopefully, I’ve done enough to give the manager a bit of a problem in terms of his team for Friday.”

Downing may find himself pitted against Sevilla right-back Daniel Alves, who is rated as one of the best in the world. The pair clashed in the UEFA Cup final in Eindhoven, but Brazil have quality throughout, as the Boro winger recognises.

He said: “There are so many great players in that side that you can’t single one out. But we’ve got class players as well and there’s no reason why we can’t beat them.”